Google Keyword Planner review (2026): is it any good?
Free keyword ideas, search volumes and bid estimates inside Google Ads
Our verdict
Third of our top three keyword research tools
For: Anyone who wants to pay nothing
Google Keyword Planner is Google's own keyword tool, free inside Google Ads: ideas from a phrase or a website, average monthly searches by place, top-of-page bid ranges, budget forecasts and access through the Google Ads API. It is third because it is built for planning ads: there is no difficulty score or look at who ranks, volumes are rounded 12-month averages, low-volume and sensitive keywords may show nothing, and you must enter billing details and switch to Expert Mode before ideas appear.
See all three and how we rankGoogle Keyword Planner report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 23, 2026
Best for free search volumes and ad cost estimates
Google Keyword Planner is Google's own keyword tool, free inside Google Ads: ideas from a phrase or a website, monthly searches, what advertisers pay for the top spot, and forecasts for a budget. It's built for planning ads, not SEO, so there's no difficulty score and no look at who ranks. You need billing details in a Google Ads account first, and volumes come rounded.
Who Google Keyword Planner is for
- Fits if you're planning Google search ads and need a budget
- Works for getting volumes for a list of keywords without paying, if you have an Ads account
Who Google Keyword Planner is not for
- Skip it if you want SEO difficulty or a rival's rankings, as it shows neither
- Not for you if you'd rather not enter billing details just to research keywords
- Tight if your niche is tiny or in health or finance, as those keywords may return nothing
- Watch out: volumes are rounded 12-month averages, and each keyword is capped at 80 characters and 10 words
- Watch out: the Ads account must be in Expert Mode, and the screens are made for ad campaigns
Why Google Keyword Planner gets a 2.8
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for moneyFree, from Google itself, with keyword ideas, monthly volumes, bid ranges and forecasts, and an API for developers. Nothing in it costs money; the catch is the Ads account it needs.
- BFree plan and trialFree with no cap, but you need a Google Ads account with billing details entered and setup finished before ideas show, and Smart Mode accounts have to switch to Expert Mode.
- CFeaturesIdeas from words or a site, volumes for your own list, top-of-page bid ranges and budget forecasts. It's built for ads, though: no organic difficulty, no competitor rankings, and low-volume or sensitive keywords may show nothing.
- CEase of useNo rating on record. The tool itself is simple, but getting to it means a Google Ads account, billing details and Expert Mode, and the screens are made for ad campaigns.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, inside Google Ads, with keyword ideas, historical volumes and forecasts also available through the Google Ads API. No desktop or phone version on record.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Google's own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/google-keyword-planner#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/google-keyword-planner.svg" alt="Google Keyword Planner: 2.8 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Google Keyword Planner stands among keyword research tools
Google Keyword Planner's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 44 of the 51 other keyword research tools we grade, and level with 3.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 37 of 51) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Google Keyword Planner has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 52 keyword research tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Google Keyword Planner’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 37 of 51, level with 14
- BFree plan and trialAbove 41 of 51, level with 3
- CFeaturesAbove 6 of 51, level with 36
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 51, level with 27
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 26 of 51, level with 25
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 44 keyword research tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Google Keyword Planner, or make your own?
Keep it
Google Keyword Planner is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 44 of the 51 other keyword research tools we grade.
What you could not
- Search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date.
- It plugs into other products, Google Ads and Google Ads API among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Google Keyword Planner’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Google Keyword Planner?
Google Keyword Planner is a keyword research tool built into Google Ads. It suggests keywords from a phrase or a website, shows average monthly searches and the range advertisers have paid for top-of-page placement, and forecasts clicks and cost for a list of keywords. It is free, but it lives inside a Google Ads account and is designed around planning Search ad campaigns.
Worth knowing
- Needs a Google Ads account with billing details entered and setup complete, and accounts in Smart Mode must switch to Expert Mode.
- Built for ad planning: it shows bid estimates and ad forecasts, not organic difficulty scores or competitor rankings.
- Keywords with very low volume or in sensitive areas such as health or finance may return no results.
- Each keyword is limited to 80 characters and 10 words.
Key features
- Keyword ideas from words or a site
- Enter phrases about a product or service, or any website, and get a list of related keyword ideas to filter, group by theme and save to a plan.
- Average monthly searches
- Shows how often a keyword and its close variants are searched, averaged over 12 months by default, by location and network. Volumes are rounded and exact-match only.
- Top-of-page bid ranges
- Low and high bid estimates, roughly the 20th and 80th percentile of what advertisers paid for a top-of-page ad over the last 30 days.
- Forecasts by budget
- A saved plan forecasts clicks, impressions, cost and conversions for a chosen budget and bid strategy, refreshed daily from the last 7 to 10 days of data.
- Volumes for your own list
- Paste or upload a CSV of keywords to get search volumes and forecasts for them, then turn the plan into a Search campaign.
- Google Ads API access
- Developers can request keyword ideas, historical metrics and forecasts through KeywordPlanIdeaService in the Google Ads API.
Google Keyword Planner pricing
As of Oct 23, 2026, Google Keyword Planner is free to use.
- Starts at
- Free
- Free plan
- Free with a Google Ads account. Billing details must be entered and account setup finished before keyword ideas can be used.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Keyword ideas, monthly search volumes, top-of-page bid ranges and forecasts, for anyone with a Google Ads account. |
Read from business.google.com on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Google Keyword Planner before you buy.
Works with
- Google Ads
- Google Ads API
Google Keyword Planner alternatives
- Google Keyword Planner vs Semrush
Free plan · from $117.33/mo
- Google Keyword Planner vs Ahrefs
Free plan · from $29/mo
- Google Keyword Planner vs Ubersuggest
Free plan · from $29/mo
- Google Keyword Planner vs KeywordTool.io
Free plan · from $68/mo
- Google Keyword Planner vs Mangools
Free plan · from $37.70/mo
Common questions
Does Google Keyword Planner have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Google Keyword Planner is listed for Web.
Does Google Keyword Planner have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Google Keyword Planner is listed for Web.
Is Google Keyword Planner open source?
Google Keyword Planner is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 23, 2026.
Does Google Keyword Planner have an API?
Yes. Google Keyword Planner offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 23, 2026.